Charlotte Checkers win in OT to extend Calder Cup series vs. Abbotsford Canucks
Not every skater’s legs were tired as the Charlotte Checkers and Abbotsford Canucks approached the end of a first overtime period Saturday night in British Columbia.
“Jesse is a very fit athlete,” Checkers’ coach Geordie Kinnear said of winger Jesse Puljujarvi. “He keeps himself in very good shape, and he had good legs all game.”
Puljujarvi showed that fitness in the 16th minute of overtime, skating around a pair of Abbotsford defenders and scoring the winning goal.
The Checkers’ 4-3 victory means the AHL Calder Cup finals are returning to Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte for Game 6 at 7 p.m. Monday. The Checkers, down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, must win Monday and Wednesday to capture the AHL championship.
“He’s scored a couple of big goals for this group,” Kinnear said of Puljujarvi, a 27-year-old Finnish forward who has played for four different NHL organizations in his nine-year professional career.
“It’s a credit to him for being mentally and physically tough in a big elimination game like this,” Kinnear added.
Puljujarvi was the No. 4 pick in the 2016 draft, taken by the Edmonton Oilers. He played in the Oilers organization (and one season in Finland) before being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2023 and later that season to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
He was released by the Penguins on Feb. 8 and signed two days later by the Florida Panthers, Charlotte’s NHL parent club. Puljujarvi played with the Panthers but was sent down to Charlotte in mid-April.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said of his team with the Checkers. “It’s a special group. I’m happy to be a part of what we’re doing here.”
Puljujarvi took a pass from Matt Kiersted, evaded a couple of Abbotsford defenders, and then beat Canucks’ goalkeeper Arturs Silovs with a 15-foot right-handed shot that stunned the crowd of 7,410 at the Abbotsford Centre. It came at the 15:22 mark of overtime.
He wouldn’t have had a chance for the dramatics, had it not been for the play of Checkers’ goalkeeper Kaapo Kahkonen, who made several brilliant saves earlier in overtime.
Abbotsford’s Linus Karlsson, who has scored a team-high 13 goals in the playoffs, got off a strong shot that Kahkonen stopped at the 14:15 mark. Kahkonen stopped another shot 40 seconds later, and that set up the Checkers’ winning play.
“Your leaders have to lead,” Kinnear said of Kahkonen. “In overtime, he had a couple composure-type big saves.”
“He’s been great for us,” Puljujarvi said of the Checkers’ goalkeeper.
Kahkonen finished with 29 saves.
Charlotte, needing a victory to keep its season going, struck first. Ben Steeves scored at the 12:55 mark, but Abbotsford evened the score on a Karlsson power play tally at 15:04. The Canucks had a 5-on-3 skater advantage at that point.
Brett Chorske, one of several first-year pros on the Charlotte roster, put the Checkers ahead 2-1 at the 3:12 mark of the second period, but the Canucks’ Arhdeep Bains evened the score just 41 seconds later.
Abbotsford took a 3-2 lead five minutes into the second period on another Karlsson goal, but Rasmus Asplund made it 3-3 at the 12:12 mark.
Then the teams played scoreless hockey for more than 40 minutes before the game-ender.
Kinnear said the Checkers “still have a lot of work to do” in trying to win the Calder Cup and noted that both teams will face the grind of long trips back to Charlotte for Game 6.
But, he added, “Now we go back to Bojangles. We’ve talked about making our fans proud. Now we’ve got work to do.”
How to watch, listen to Checkers-Canucks
The remaining games of the Calder Cup finals will be carried by several media outlets.
Fans can watch the games on any of three locations — True Crime Network (WCNC’s digital channel 36.2); the NHL Network; and AHL-TV on FloHockey.
Fans can listen to the games on ESPNCLT.com, WAMERadio.com, at 92.9 FM, or on the NHL Network on Sirius Radio.
This story was originally published June 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.